The Creative Urge ~ by Lexa Fisher

Photo by Brooke Lark on Unsplash

I love to cook, but making Christmas cookies and other sweet treats leaves me with a guilty conscience at this time of year. I hear so many friends complain of too much sugar during the holidays. What to do? Turn the kitchen into an apothecary!

Recipe

One of my favorite non-edible gifts to make is the shower fizzy. With just a few ingredients, they are easy to assemble. A silicone mold works best so the fizzies are easy to pop out without crumbling. Put a fizzy in the back of your shower and enjoy the scent as it melts. This time of year, the cold and sinus relief fizzy is ideal.

Goat's Milk Peppermint Soap

Another easy option is melt-and-pour soap. A glass loaf pan or even a cupcake pan make great molds if you don't want to buy specially shaped designs. Like the shower fizzy, the options with melt-and-pour soaps are endless! Check out Pinterest for wonderful ideas like this one.

Recipe

Chapsticks are easy to make in the kitchen, too! I prefer to add a bit of honey when I make them. Recipes like the one linked are easy to find on Pinterest. I've also dabbled in candles, whipped body butter, and scouring powder--all without putting a pound on my gift recipients.

All grown in my yard.

With a garden full of herbs, there are many possibilities for herbal gifts. Pictured are purple sage, sage, bay leaf, winter and summer savory, oregano, parsley, rosemary, and an herbal salt made from many of these herbs. These fresh herbs can also easily be dried in a microwave at 30 second intervals and then bottled for gifts. Herbal salt made from the same fresh herbs (lower left) gives a depth of flavor in many dishes.

And of course, I love making my own Christmas cards. Happy holidays!